A Piece of Me
by JillyMcBop
Summary: Megan has some disturbing nightmares involving Lacey that leave her shaken and concerned. But they're just dreams... aren't they? Lacey/Megan relationship. Contains fluff. And popcorn. Rated T for descriptions of nightmares. Completed.
1. The Aftermath

Megan rolled over, glanced at the clock and groaned. 2:15 A.M. Another three hours and her day would begin. _What is wrong with me tonight?  
_She felt hot, and her pillow was damp with sweat. She sighed, and switched her bedside lamp on. The sudden burst of light made her eyes ache, but they soon adjusted.

Megan untangled the sheets from her legs and got up shakily. When she stood, a sudden bolt of pain shot through her head.

_Ugh.  
_She staggered to the kitchen, flipped on the light over the sink and got a cold glass of water. She relaxed a little and breathed deeply as the cool, refreshing liquid flowed through her body.

_That's better._

Suddenly she gasped as her hands went numb and the cup fell to the floor, shattering in a thousand transparent pieces. Her mouth fell open as she stared at the floor, dumbfounded at her clumsiness and startled by the piercing sound that the cup had made as it broke.

_I don't believe this. _

Her next thought:

_I'm barefoot._

Megan was relieved when she heard the click of a doorknob and saw Lacey shuffle into the kitchen. She squinted when she saw her mother standing behind the counter rubbing her hands with a bemused look on her face.

"What are you doing? Did something break?"

Megan glanced from Lacey, to the shattered glass, and back to Lacey. She suddenly saw the humor in the situation.

_Megan Hunt, formerly a neurosurgeon, now reduced to dropping cups in the kitchen in the middle of the night to be discovered by her teenage daughter_.

Lacey flipped on the big kitchen light and gasped in horror when she saw the shattered glass on the floor.

"Mom, what did you do?"

Megan shrugged.

"All I wanted was a drink of water…"

Lacey's dismayed expression tipped Megan over the edge, and she started to laugh. Lacey gave an astonished look at her mother.

"What's so funny? It's two in the morning and now I have to sweep up glass…" Megan stopped laughing and shook her head, smiling.

"Sorry Lace… it's just… I don't know. I'm just tired. You're right. I'm sorry I woke you up. My hands went numb and the cup fell…it just happened."

Lacey nodded.

"I know."

Megan paused for a second.

_What did that mean?_

"Anyway… uh, maybe you should put some shoes on before you start sweeping."

Lacey rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, thanks."

Megan chuckled as she watched her daughter depart to her room in search of shoes.

_I think this is actually really good for her. She's needs to get out of her comfort zone sometimes._

Megan realized that she was sometimes overly-protective of Lacey.

_But that's my right. After all, my husband _stole_ her from me for practically five years…_

Lacey came back into the kitchen wearing a pair of sneakers. She grabbed the broom from the closet and started to sweep. After a few strokes, she leaned the broom against the counter and shook her head.

"This isn't gonna work. I'm getting the vacuum."

Megan was stranded over by the sink until Lacey had vacuumed up as much glass as she could around the kitchen. She turned the machine off, and sighed.

"I think I got most of it."

Megan nodded.

"Thanks, Lace."

Eventually the mess was cleaned up and the vacuum put away. Just before Megan was about to depart for her bedroom, Lacey looked hesitantly across the room her for a second, and then looked at the floor.

"Mom… I can't sleep. I had a really bad dream, and I can't get it out of my head."

Megan walked over to Lacey and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in close.

"So did I," she confessed. Lacey looked up into her mother's face.

"Really? You had a nightmare?"

Megan nodded.

"Yeah. I'm not immune from having bad dreams, you know. But never mind that. How about we do something together? Like… have popcorn and watch a movie?"

Lacey looked pleasantly surprised.

"Like, now? In the middle of the night? That sounds awesome, let's do it!"

Megan laughed.

"Okay. I'll start the popcorn, and you pick the movie."

Megan and Lacey settled down on the living room couch with a big bowl of popcorn and one of their favorite romantic comedy movies. Lacey forgot about her nightmare and just enjoyed the spontaneous entertainment. However, Megan's mind had drifted back to the haunting images that had filled her mind earlier that night. She puzzled over the reason for those thoughts and scenes.

_Why would I dream something so… dark, and awful? I've never thought stuff like that about Lacey… is there something that I've missed? But it was just a dream. Dreams don't ever make complete sense. But… what if there is something out there, something evil, and I should be paying attention? _

She shuddered inwardly as she recalled the disturbing images once more.

Lacey's laughter shook her from her unsettling thoughts.

_I shouldn't worry; it was just a nightmare. Nightmares aren't real. I should just stop worrying. Lacey will be fine. She's here, with me._

But she couldn't stop. She couldn't shake the disconcerting feelings that her dream had brought upon her. She knew that for sanity's sake she had to just think about something else. She couldn't let a bad dream ruin her day. But it already had.

[_What do you think? Shall I continue? Please review if you think I should!]_


	2. The First Dream

_(Earlier that night…)_

Megan had just switched off the bedroom light. The day was done. It had just been an ordinary day. Autopsies, observations, paperwork, legal stuff. She'd picked up Lacey from school, they'd come home and had supper, and afterwards Megan helped her daughter with some tough homework questions. Once that was sorted out, it was "me time" for both of them; Lacey used her computer, and Megan picked up a novel she had started reading several months ago.

Around 10:00 Megan went to bed, tired from her full day at work. Lacey stayed up till about 11:00 chatting with her friends on the computer in her room.

In Megan's room, everything was quiet, dark and still.

But not for long.

Megan heard a loud crash from Lacey's room.

_What is she doing? She should be asleep. _

She raised her head off the pillow listened for a minute. After a few seconds had passed, she heard Lacey's panic-filled voice calling out "Mom! Help me!"

Megan jumped out of bed and ran out of her room toward the sound of Lacey's voice. It came from the bedroom.

Megan flung Lacey's bedroom door open. It was pitch black inside except for a flashlight that lay near the doorway. Its eerie, yellow light was shining right towards Megan. She bent down, picked it up and aimed it into the room. She was struck by a thrill of horror at the scene that was illuminated before her.

Lacey lay on the floor, on her back, with her right hand stretched over her head toward the door. Her mouth of open and her eyes were wide and rolled back in her head. Megan flipped the bedroom light on and quickly got down on her knees beside her daughter.

"Lacey! Lacey, can you hear me? Lacey…"

Megan looked and saw at least a dozen empty pill bottles scattered around the floor, along with an empty water bottle. Lacey's insulin pump was lying on the floor in a corner; it looked as though it had been flung there. Megan was in a state of shock for several seconds. But after she recovered herself she immediately checked for vital signs. No pulse. No respiration. No signs of life. Lacey was dead.

Megan cradled her daughter's head in her lap, reeling inwardly with grief.

_Lacey, Lacey! How did I not see! Why didn't you say something? How could I let this happen?_

She immediately thought of her own father. He had committed suicide. He gave no warning signals. One day, they just found him in the house, dead. Megan was reliving that nightmare, but this time, it was her precious daughter. Her world had come crashing down. Lacey's lifeless body lay limp in her arms. Her once bright and eager face was frozen in an expression of pain and terror. And her eyes… the tears rolled down Megan's face as she looked into her daughter's eyes, now rolled back with nothing but the whites showing.

_What did I miss? How did I let it get this way? Lacey, come back… don't do this to me. Lacey, why?_

Would it be the same as it was with her father? No note, no explanation anywhere?

Nothing in the world could have broken Megan's heart more than to see her own beautiful daughter throw her life away. And she could have stopped it.

_How could I be so blind?_

Megan just sat there, rocking Lacey in her arms, wishing with all her heart that she would just wake up and apologize for scaring her like that. She would sit up and give her a hug, and then they would both go back to bed. She would be up in the morning. They would eat breakfast together as usual. She would go to school, and then come back home.

But then Megan's mind came back to the scene in front of her.

_Lacey is dead. _

That thought was pure agony. But Lacey's body was growing colder by the minute. And there was nothing she could do to bring her back. Her world was shattered. Everything went dark, and she felt like she was falling down, down, down…

Then a sudden involuntary twitch brought Megan back to reality. She was lying in her bed, coated in sweat. The sheets were twisted around her legs, and her hands were stretched out and clenched into fists. She found that she was crying, and for a split second she was puzzled as to the reason. But then her dream came back to her in a flash.

_Lacey's corpse. She committed suicide, right there in her room… right under my nose. _

Megan felt sick. She tried to remind herself that it was just a dream. Lacey was fine, really.

_Why would I have a dream like that? It's so… awful. _

She shuddered.

_I should really go back to sleep._

Her throat was dry, and her skin felt clammy.

_I should get a drink. What time is it, anyway?_

[_Thanks for the reviews, everyone! It's really encouraging.]_


	3. The In Between

Megan stared blankly at the television. After she had heard the reporter's first few words, her thoughts immediately went back to the dream she'd had that night.

"William Bryant was found in his room by his parents John and Elizabeth Bryant, who immediately called 911. It is reported that Mr. and Mrs. Bryant tried to resuscitate their son, but were unsuccessful. Although the tragedy of William Bryant's suicide was, of course, devastating to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bryant have expressed the desire that it not be in vain, and that it should be an encouragement to teens to talk with someone if…"

_It's everywhere,_ Megan thought bleakly. _But why?_

"Megan, Mrs. Thompson is here to speak with you, about her daughter." Kate's voice sounded as though it was far away for a second. Megan shook her head and turned around to face the doorway where Kate was leaning in.

"Okay, thanks."

Kate looked quizzically at Megan.

"Are you okay?"

Megan nodded.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

Kate shrugged.

"Just… making sure. It's probably hard for you, working on Jenny's case, since she's right around Lacey's age."

Megan sighed.

"You're right. It is. But that's okay, I'm fine with it."

Kate studied Megan for a moment.

"If you say so. But if you want to pass this to someone else…"

"No. I like to finish what I start."

The case of Jenny Thompson indeed was troubling for Megan Hunt. She was a 15 year old girl who had been sleeping over at her friend's house the night of her death. In the morning, she was found with her throat cut. Her friend was gone. The back door of the house was wide open when the investigators arrived. Naturally, there had been a search for the friend, who had been found and questioned. However, the girl's mind was in a wretched state, and she unable to give sensible answers… it was almost as though she had witnessed something too awful to tell about.

_What did she see? Or what did she do?_ Megan wondered. The ME wasn't convinced that it was just a "straight-up murder", as the detectives liked to put. The obvious cause of death was exsanguination due to the cut on her throat, but the who and why were still eluding her. One of the possibilities was…

_Suicide. There it is again. But why?_

Megan began to wonder if that was the reason for her nightmares: Seeing the body of a young girl on her table that had possibly committed suicide.

_That must be it. I'm just dreaming about it because I see it all the time at work. Dreams get distorted, and your mind makes up a twisted story with people that you know, faces you've seen before. Like Lacey. That's all. _

Megan pushed those thought to the back of her mind as she strode into the room where Jenny Thompson's mother was waiting. She put on a faked smile and proceeded to talk with a distraught Mrs. Thompson, telling her she couldn't see her daughter yet, the police were still working on finding the killer, etc. The same things she had said over and over again to many anxious parents, guardians, grandparents, uncles, aunts, spouses, brothers and sisters.

When the visit was over, Megan returned to her office to sort some paperwork. For reason, even in the air-conditioned room, the atmosphere seemed hot and hazy to her. She sighed and rested her head in her hands.

_Am I in the twilight zone or something? What is wrong with me? Maybe Kate was right, and I should give this case to somebody else to I don't keep dreaming stupid dreams about it. I must be going crazy. No thanks to that stupid dream._

Megan's phone went off, startling her. She saw Lacey's number on the screen, and picked it up, her hands both tense and jittery at the same time from agitation.

"Hey Lace, what's going on?"

"Um… nothing really, I just wanted to ask you if I could stay over at Ruby's for the night? She said her dad would pick us both up and take me to the apartment get my stuff."

_Jenny Thompson. She had gone to her friend's house so she could kill herself in secret. _

"No, you can't, you're coming right home after school."

"What? Seriously? Why not? C'mon, Mom, it's just one night, we've been wanting to get together for ages. You've let me sleep over at friends' houses before, why do you have a problem with it now?" Megan sighed.

"Yeah, okay, sorry, Lace. I was just… thinking about something else. Nevermind. Go ahead, have fun. See you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah. Sure. Thanks, Mom. You have to stop worrying. I'll be fine." Megan's heart began to beat faster, and she had to take a deep breath before she replied.

"Okay. Love you, Lacey!"

"Love you too, bye."

_I just have to let her go. She's right. She's a perfectly normal teenage girl who just wants to have fun. The last thing she needs is me watching her every move. We've made a lot of progress, and I can't let some stupid dream mess that up._

Megan did _not_ look forward to spending the night alone. Sure, she had been on her own since she had split up with Todd and before Lacey had moved in with her. But since last night's dream, she felt like she needed people… more than ever before.

She wished that she could just stay awake all night so she wouldn't have to worry about dreaming at all. But even coffee couldn't make that happen.

Megan tried to shake the gloomy feeling that settled on her again like a cloud above her head.

_This is going to be a long night._

_[Thanks for the reviews, everybody! I didn't expect to get that many. Don't worry, FaBbEr0oZ, the story will end on a happy note. After we leave the twilight zone… :) ]_


	4. Turning Tables

Megan found herself stepping out of the elevator and back into her work routine. More autopsies, more discussions with Peter about legal investigations, more calls back and forth with detectives about the most recent developments in the various cases she was assigned to. It all seemed to go by in a blur.

Kate appeared in the doorway of her office with a concerned look on her face.

"Listen, Megan, I know that this is hard for you… are you sure you don't want someone else to… take care of her?"

_Is she talking about Jenny Thompson?_

"No, it's fine, really. I can handle it."

Kate sighed, walked over to Megan and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Megan, I think you really should just go home, or go be with your mother, or someone. You shouldn't have to handle this alone."

_Handle what? This is my job; what is she talking about? There's something she's not telling me._

"Is there something I'm missing? Sure, maybe doing an autopsy on a 15-year-old girl is hard. But someone has to do it. All I'm concerned about is making sure she's put to rest properly." Kate stepped back from Megan and looked at her firmly.

"Megan, it's obvious to me that you just aren't yourself. I completely understand. I wish that you never had to go through this. I had hoped that we could have brought her to a different ME's office, but no others were available, so she had to come here."

With an impatient sigh, Megan brushed past Kate and headed to the morgue at a brisk pace.

"Just please let me do my work, I'll worry about my feelings later," she called back.

"Megan, wait…"

_Why is she trying to stop me from doing my job? I thought we were over this._

After putting on a pair of gloves, Megan carefully lifted up the white sheet from the teen's body.

_I'll prove to Kate that I can handle this case as efficiently as all the others. I don't know why she doesn't have any confidence in me… the case is almost closed, anyway._

However, she was stabbed through with horror when she saw the girl's face.

It wasn't Jenny Thompson's body on her table. It was Lacey's.

She let go of the sheet and staggered backwards, staring in shock at Lacey's body.

There was no laceration across her throat. But her eyes…. Her eyes were wide and rolled back in her head, just as Megan remembered from her dream the night before.

_That was just a dream. This can't be real, no, this isn't, it can't be… _

A split second after the enormity of that discovery hit her, Megan felt her whole body jerk, and she found herself back in her bedroom in the dark. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and she was breathing hard. She found that she was crying. It took her a few seconds to recall what had just happened in her dream. She winced as she remembered the startling scene.

_Oh yes. Lacey. It was another nightmare. Just a dream._

Megan turned her light on and sat up in her bed as she tried to get ahold of herself. She brushed the tears from her face and took a few deep breaths.

_Why is this theme chasing me in my sleep? I wish I could just shake it off… _

Megan suddenly remembered that she was alone that night. Lacey was staying at a friend's house… just like Jenny Thompson had been when she…

_Nothing's going to happen; this is just a bunch of stupid dreams. Relax, Megan..._

She felt like a child, trying to figure out what was real and what make-believe.

_Jenny Thompson is real. Lacey is real. My mind is just trying to paste those two things together. But it's just a dream. It's fiction, it doesn't have anything to do with reality… _

Megan got up from her bed and walked over to Lacey's room. She flipped the light on and sat down on her bed. She glanced down at Lacey's bedside table and saw the beginnings of a portrait.

_That looks like me, _thought Megan. _She's good with art._

Suddenly Megan felt completely drained.

_Too many late nights… and too many nightmares. I wish I didn't have to sleep at all. _

Megan yawned and stretched out on Lacey's bed.

_Maybe I'm trying to empathize with Mrs. Thompson too much and that's why I keep having these dreams. Maybe I need to take a vacation from work for a while…_

Megan's speculative thoughts didn't last very long. Soon after she rested her head on Lacey's pillow, she fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

_[Thank you all for your reviews! I appreciate each one of them. If you have ideas for future stories, I would appreciate those also.] _


	5. Second Chances

[_Last chapter! Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for all the reviews and kind comments! :)]_

Megan brushed the sweat-plastered hair off her forehead. She had a tired look on her face, but her eyes were alight with satisfaction and anticipation. Todd's shaky utterance of "You're amazing… just amazing…" was drowned out by the wailing of a newborn baby.

After being rubbed down, weighed, stamped and wrapped in a blanket, the tiny baby was brought over to Megan and placed on her chest by one of the smiling nurses. Todd stared at his daughter in amazement. Megan's heart leapt as she gazed into her tiny face. Her eyes were mostly closed.

"Well Meg… what should we name her?" Todd asked in a whisper.

_She's so soft… and delicate._

Her little features were so beautiful. One of her tiny fists reached up toward the ceiling. Megan smiled, and her tired eyes brimmed with tears of joy.

"Lacey."

Todd nodded, and smiled.

"Lacey Fleming."

"Megan, Mrs. Thompson's here."

Megan glanced away from Lacey's photo, which she had been staring at, in thought, for the last several moments. She sighed. It was hard, thinking about how she had driven her away for the last five years. Only recently had she been able to begin mending her relationship with her daughter. A week or so ago, Megan's nightmares had stopped. She figured that they were probably caused by lack of sleep combined with stress about the then-current case. After re-examining Jenny Thompson's body and running several more tests, she found that she had suffered from a seizure while holding a razor blade, presumably to re-load her razor before shaving her legs. The razor slashed her across the throat and she exsanguinated. Her friend had discovered her upon exiting the bathroom, and had completely freaked out. She ran out of the back door and collapsed in shock in a neighbor's yard. The neighbors brought her to the local hospital, where she was taken care of and afterwards questioned by the detectives. She was unable to give any clear answers at first, but after a couple of days she described what she had found to the police.

Megan was relieved to find out that it wasn't a suicide.

_That would've just been such a waste._

Mrs. Thompson's pain was also somewhat alleviated when she learned the cause of her daughter's death. After she had been allowed to see Jenny and say goodbye, Megan covered the girl's body, rolled her back into the cabinet and closed the door. The morgue was dark. Everyone else that worked on that floor had already gone home.

The quietness atmosphere was broken by Megan's phone ringing. She saw Lacey's name on the caller I.D. and picked it up.

"Hey Lace."

"Mom, where do we have batteries? It's been more than two weeks and I forgot to change the batteries in my insulin pump…"

Tears sprung to Megan's eyes.

_Oh Lacey…_

"They're in the cabinet in the closet, second drawer down. Lacey, you need to remember! I'd hate to think of what would happen if they ran out, and you were alone somewhere…"

"Mom, I'm fine, okay? I gotta go. Thanks."

"Yeah, bye…"

Lacey hung up abruptly. Megan sighed and shook her head.

_Why did this have to happen to my Lacey? Is there something I could have done…_

She remembered the day when her mother called to tell her that Lacey was in the hospital, being stabilized after being in a diabetic coma. Megan was terrified. Her first thoughts were _Why didn't I see the signs? I'm a doctor; how did I let it get that bad? She could've died, and I wouldn't have been there so help her… _

She had paced up and down the hospital room.

_Drove Mom crazy… _Thought Megan, with a slight smile.

_I could've lost my daughter._

Megan swung her purse over her shoulder and headed to the elevator.

_Lacey has been so brave. She's everything to me. I couldn't ask for a better daughter. I've let her down so often… but she's still giving me a chance. _

Megan brushed a tear from her eye as she waited for the elevator doors to open on the bottom floor.

_I hope she knows that I'll always be there for her._

Megan rushed up the stairs to her apartment. She twisted the key in the door and pushed open the door quickly.

"Lacey, did you find the batteries?"

Lacey came out of her room, dressed in her pajamas.

"Hey Mom."

Megan paused for a moment.

"You okay, Lace? You're ready for bed early."

Lacey smiled.

"I thought that maybe we could… watch a movie tonight?"

"Oh, so that's it!"

Lacey shrugged apologetically.

"Yeah, well, I know I sorta scared you… about that battery thing."

Megan looked indignant.

"Well yeah, you did. I thought we'd gone over this a million times…" She stopped, and her keys fell out of her hands as they both went numb suddenly. She sighed and began rubbing them together furiously as she tried not to show her frustration. Without a word, Lacey walked over to her mother and began to gently massage her hands. Megan felt a lump rise in her throat as she felt her daughter's hands rub hers.

_Her hands are so soft… and delicate. _

She let her tears roll down her face as she squeezed Lacey's hands before hugging her tightly. Lacey seemed to know that her mother just needed some comfort. She closed her eyes and rested in her mother's embrace. After a few moments, Megan let go and held Lacey out at arm's length.

"Listen, Lace… last week I had these… awful dreams. That you were dead… they were horrible. I know it may not seem like it, and I've let you down so many times…" Megan shook her head and the tears rolled down her face again.

"But you're my world. I'm always going to be here for you, not matter what happens, okay? I'm sorry if it always seems like I'm trying to keep you from having fun. I just don't want to lose you again."

Lacey's eyes grew moist.

"I know, Mom. I don't want to lose you either."

Megan nodded, and took a deep breath. Lacey smiled, and blinked her tears away.

"So… what movie do you want to watch tonight?"

"How about _Black Beauty_?"

Megan sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Lacey, I've cried enough for one night, you want me to flood this place? I could you know."

Lacey chuckled, and the chuckle turned into a laugh that she and her mother shared.

"I'll make the popcorn this time!" Lacey declared.

"That sounds good. Just don't burn…"

"Mom, I've made it a ton of times before, don't worry!"

"I was going to say, don't burn the popcorn. I'm not worried about you anymore."

Lacey tried to look indignant, but she couldn't stop herself from chuckling again as she went to set up the air popper and find the salt.

"Hey Lace…"

"Yeah Mom?"

"Thanks. My hands feel a lot better know."

Lacey nodded.

"Good."

As Megan and Lacey sat down to watch _Black Beauty_, Megan couldn't help but savor the sweet moments that she'd had with her daughter that night.

_Oh, life is good. I wish it had always been this way… no. Don't think like that. Lacey is here with me now, and that's all that counts. _

After the movie was over, Megan and Lacey started to head to bed. Megan gave Lacey a quick hug.

"Thanks for that. Thanks for everything. You're the best daughter ever, you know that?" She squeezed Lacey tightly before letting go.

"G'night, Lace."

"Night, Mom. Love you."

"Love you too."

As Megan climbed into bed and turned out the light, she wished that she could've been more like Lacey when she was that age.

_She's such a thoughtful girl, sometimes it's hard to believe that she's my daughter. But…. _Tears sprang to Megan's eyes, and she smiled in the darkness.

_She really is a piece of me. _


End file.
